GOI/Jakarta plans $393M rail link to airport

Jakarta plans to build a Rp3.6 trillion ($393 million) railway system linking Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Banten province with the capital to cope with growing passenger traffic, the Straits Times reported Monday (18/2/08).

Targeted to be ready next year, the railway will stretch along 33.7 km, with two-thirds of it running on an elevated track, giving passengers an alternative to the road route.

The remaining 11.7 km of the track will use an existing railroad, according to PT Railink, a subsidiary of state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api (KA) and airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II.

"Once we finish with financial arrangements, the project can start by next month," said PT Railink president Masjraul Hidayat.

Hidayat said the new railway track - which will start in Manggarai, central Jakarta - will pass several train stations and will be an alternative means of public transportation to and from the airport besides buses and taxis.

PT KA president-director Ronny Wahyudi said that 70% of the project's cost would be covered by national syndicated bank loans and 15% by the implementing consortium's equity. The remaining 15% would be offered to other interested parties.